Douglas fir progression

Hartinez

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Collected this the same time I collected all 3 Englemann spruce in my other threads. Same as the others! Strong root growth and new buds have pushed hard since repot one month ago. Leaving alone for the rest of this year and will style next year. Love the narwhal branch shooting out the top. May be a tad too long long term, but time will tell once I start bringing some of the branches in and down.
 

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Potawatomi13

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Good size trunk/decent bark. Unfortunate so straight. Agreement on long Jin. Personally would likely break off shortly(4-6")above last usable branch to minimize straightness of trunk. This leaves many branches to bend/add movement to otherwise linear tree. Good collection best of fortune with it;).
 

Hartinez

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Good size trunk/decent bark. Unfortunate so straight. Agreement on long Jin. Personally would likely break off shortly(4-6")above last usable branch to minimize straightness of trunk. This leaves many branches to bend/add movement to otherwise linear tree. Good collection best of fortune with it;).
Better movement would have certainly been nice, but the bark is pretty darn cragly and this image of a sub alpine fir from Mirai, popped in to my head when I saw this tree on my collection trip. BFA152EA-F3D7-4C3E-BC74-D64F979FA387.jpeg
 

Colorado

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I’d hit “Like” 4 or 5 times on this one if I could. This is one of the best Fir yamadori I’ve seen on this site, in my opinion.

I wouldn’t worry about the straightness of the Jin whatsoever. As you obviously know, that is exactly how many very old firs look in the Rockies.

This tree has a ton of potential. Congrats!
 

August44

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Nice fir! Did you collect that when it was totally dormant or was it pushing new growth? I have a lot of fir around me and will have to look at some my next trip out. Thanks for showing! Peter
 

Tieball

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Collected this the same time I collected all 3 Englemann spruce in my other threads. Same as the others! Strong root growth and new buds have pushed hard since repot one month ago. Leaving alone for the rest of this year and will style next year. Love the narwhal branch shooting out the top. May be a tad too long long term, but time will tell once I start bringing some of the branches in and down.
I see that your collected tree has an excellent resemblance to the wild growth up in the mountains. Nice material to work on. The straight trunk doesn’t concern me....I like a good straight tall mountain Fir. They look so powerful and yet vulnerable to the elements. The straight trunks look like trees I can believe in imagine the environmental factors that shaped the tree over time. Have imaginative fun with this one.
 

Hartinez

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Nice fir! Did you collect that when it was totally dormant or was it pushing new growth? I have a lot of fir around me and will have to look at some my next trip out. Thanks for showing! Peter

Thanks!! I always collect in the spring, usually early spring. I’ve tried collecting out of season and have had 0 success keeping those trees alive. If I had a poly tunnel or greenhouse I’d consider collecting during the winter or midsummer. I collected these in May of 2018 in northern New Mexico at an elevation of around 10000 feet. Up there that is considered early spring.
 

Hartinez

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Thanks!! I always collect in the spring, usually early spring. I’ve tried collecting out of season and have had 0 success keeping those trees alive. If I had a poly tunnel or greenhouse I’d consider collecting during the winter or midsummer. I collected these in May of 2018 in northern New Mexico at an elevation of around 10000 feet. Up there that is considered early spring.
Nice fir! Did you collect that when it was totally dormant or was it pushing new growth? I have a lot of fir around me and will have to look at some my next trip out. Thanks for showing! Peter
and yes it was pushing new growth.
 

PiñonJ

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Wow! You have an aggressive timeline for root work on your collected trees. Glad they’re all doing well. Keep us posted!
 

Hartinez

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Wow! You have an aggressive timeline for root work on your collected trees. Glad they’re all doing well. Keep us posted!
Didn’t really do much root work. More than anything else, I was responding to the foliage growth. I did remove a bit of existing soil, but really wanted to get them out of there deep grow tubs they were in. They were all repotted over a month ago now and are doing GREAT! And the roots were beautiful, with long white extensions throughout. In the past I would have left them in the original box or tub I planted them in and styled the tree after a few years, but I had most trees kick the bucket when I did that. I’m trying to do things in the opposite this time around. I will not touch any of the foliage until next year at the soonest. And I won’t repot again for 4or 5 years. I’m really going for tight and fine root growth first. Then styling once I’ve got that. And when, I think it was you @PiñonJ , that mentioned that foliage on needle species is what pushes stronger root growth, it was a bit of a revelation for me (though it should have been a no brained). I’ve always been too quick to style and chop foliage and worry about roots second. So we’ll see.
 

GGB

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Wow your tree is very similar to your mirai inspiration. I think yours actually has potential to be even better, as you have more options with branching
 

PiñonJ

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Didn’t really do much root work. More than anything else, I was responding to the foliage growth. I did remove a bit of existing soil, but really wanted to get them out of there deep grow tubs they were in. They were all repotted over a month ago now and are doing GREAT! And the roots were beautiful, with long white extensions throughout. In the past I would have left them in the original box or tub I planted them in and styled the tree after a few years, but I had most trees kick the bucket when I did that. I’m trying to do things in the opposite this time around. I will not touch any of the foliage until next year at the soonest. And I won’t repot again for 4or 5 years. I’m really going for tight and fine root growth first. Then styling once I’ve got that. And when, I think it was you @PiñonJ , that mentioned that foliage on needle species is what pushes stronger root growth, it was a bit of a revelation for me (though it should have been a no brained). I’ve always been too quick to style and chop foliage and worry about roots second. So we’ll see.
Not sure if that was me, but foliage mass is what provides the tree with energy for back budding and root growth. This is especially important in junipers. The thing about species like spruce and fir is they store large amounts of resources for cold protection in the winter. All that stored energy is then available in the spring to support either heavy root work, or heavy branch pruning. If your trees continue to do well, you could style them all next spring and then repot them the following spring. Getting rid of a portion of that field soil should allow them to develop more quickly than waiting 4 to 5 years.
 

Hartinez

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Not sure if that was me, but foliage mass is what provides the tree with energy for back budding and root growth. This is especially important in junipers. The thing about species like spruce and fir is they store large amounts of resources for cold protection in the winter. All that stored energy is then available in the spring to support either heavy root work, or heavy branch pruning. If your trees continue to do well, you could style them all next spring and then repot them the following spring. Getting rid of a portion of that field soil should allow them to develop more quickly than waiting 4 to 5 years.
Very cool. Thank you. And I read the original collection post. You and a few others basically said to leave the foliage be. Best decision I made as I was planning on removing a bit at the time.
 

Potawatomi13

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Better movement would have certainly been nice, but the bark is pretty darn cragly and this image of a sub alpine fir from Mirai, popped in to my head when I saw this tree on my collection trip.

However tree you possess has young unweathered/unaged deadwood/no branches nor stubs. Really does not add to image of age and to this one detracts from rest of tree. However is your tree. Can always change mind later;). After develop of branches other possibility may present self.
 

Hartinez

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However tree you possess has young unweathered/unaged deadwood/no branches nor stubs. Really does not add to image of age and to this one detracts from rest of tree. However is your tree. Can always change mind later;). After develop of branches other possibility may present self.
One step at a time. Hope to get after branch selection and styling by next year. For now, I’m happy. With time and a proper hand, maybe I’ll have you convinced. Just give me 4-5 years. ?
 

Hartinez

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This tree has had a healthy and productive year. The new growth was course and a healthy green. The buds for next season look great with quite a bit of back budding along branches. I removed 2 branches that grew for unwanted/awkward locations. I also Did a quick sketch to game plan the styling of this tree for next spring. I will cut back to an extending bud but will prob not remove too much of the foliage at once, in order to further develop a healthy root system.
268768268770
268771
 

Potawatomi13

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Not bad drawing/idea;). How to get 2 heavy branches downward?
 

Hartinez

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Not bad drawing/idea;). How to get 2 heavy branches downward?
Fortunately they are either already going down or horizontal. Plus, the wood even the thick branches are as supple as my spruce. ie. shouldn’t be a problem. 😉
 

August44

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Is yours a sub alpine fir? Is that 2 light colored lines on the underside of the needles that I see? Is this the best way to ID sub alpine firs or do other firs have these light colored lines?
 

Hartinez

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Is yours a sub alpine fir? Is that 2 light colored lines on the underside of the needles that I see? Is this the best way to ID sub alpine firs or do other firs have these light colored lines?
That was one of my original thoughts when I first collected, but a couple senior members commented that it was not. And after looking more in to it, sub alpine bark is so much more smooth, or elephant like.
 
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